Once you decide that you want to translate materials, you need to figure out who is going to translate for you. Do you ask a bilingual friend to translate or do you hire an agency? Or are there other viable options?
The different options for translators include:
By not being careful about who you chose for translation, you may run into difficulties or quality issues with your multilingual communications. The key takeaway is to pick the right option for the material you need translated.
Today we will focus on options #1, #6 and #7. To learn more about options 2-5, visit our learning center.
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Often, we hear stories about companies using family and friends when they needed business content translated. In virtually every instance, they’ve run into problems and needed to come to us to have their information professionally translated.
A person they know personally, and trust, could be a good choice, right? They know you and your preferences, they are willing to do the work, they may not charge you for it, or they may charge you less than other options. Yet, you could really run into issues if they don’t fully understand your industry, the purpose of the materials, the culture they are translating for, etc.
While it’s true that your friend or family member may be able to speak the other language well, they may not have the skills needed to provide a high-quality translation.
Benefits –Inexpensive, personal connection
Risks –Quality, liability
Hiring an Independent Translator
These days you can easily find individuals who work as independent contractors. One option is to hire and develop a direct relationship with an independent translator. You get the advantage of working directly with that person is you can consistently hire the same person for each language, develop a repeatable workflow and maintain a consistent voice.
If you work with one language and have limited demands, this could be a reasonable solution.
Clients hiring independent translators go to agencies eventually for a few reasons.
Benefits – direct relationship, build knowledge about each other
Risks – no ability to scale, quality questions, you handle project management
As you can probably surmise, hiring a Language Service Provider (LSP) or agency to translate your content, is the full-service option. The biggest negative is that it’s also the highest price option.
Benefits of working with the RIGHT agency. You get:
Benefits – high quality results, process and project management included, best practices suggestions
Risks – costs particularly if you hire the wrong agency.
Bottom line, you do have numerous choices for who you pick to do your translations. As with any purchase, you sacrifice quality and service as you go to a lower price point. It’s important that every company consider their risk vs. return and make a plan so the decision on who does the translation is clear.
Rapport International specializes in multilingual communications, providing language translation and interpretation services that are accurate and culturally appropriate. We use the right voice, correct terminology to avoid liability, customize services to your needs, and deliver on time and within your budget. And with our 100% satisfaction guarantee, you can trust that it’s done right. Contact us today if you would like more information or to get a free quote.